Wednesday, July 30, 2008

We leave this morning for our family vacation! This is the biggest trip we've ever planned. I hope we all have great memories when we get home in just six days.

Crazy story, though: DH and I were up until 1:30-2 this morning. We were mostly tying up loose ends at the clinic, as well as finishing packing. I had my alarm set for 5:00. For some odd reason, I woke up at 4:15, thought I was late and immediately jumped in the shower. It took almost all of my shower before it dawned on me that I didn't have to get up until 5! Ugh. Now I have wet hair that I definitely don't want to have a "slept on" look!

Oh well. Wish us luck on the plane flight. Only LD will be a problem, I think. K and C are so excited and they can read and play the DS. Also, I have to vent about the crazy fees at the airlines: $15/ checked bag, $3/bag of snacks, $2/headphones. Granted, it has been three years since I last flew, but all those things were free last time! Ugh.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Our family leaves for Washington DC in three days! :) It was a last minute trip that we booked last week. We are getting so excited and are busy planning what we want to do. If you've been there and have tips or suggestions: Please comment!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

I just got an email from a good friend that lives in another state. She is also in her Relief Society Presidency and has to teach the first Sunday lesson. I was fortunate that she emailed me her lesson. It had so much good information and so much to think on.

But, this is the cool part, we chose almost the exact same topic (managing time/busyness), which shows that women everywhere really are the same (think: worldwide sisterhood). But, we went about the topic with different quotes from the prophets, a different method of teaching, etc., which shows that we are individuals with individual sisters in our wards. Her ward needed something different than my ward and the Lord guided us to fill those needs.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

C belongs to a particularly difficult karate school. Although we don't know (we've never had anyone else in karate), we have been told that he is extremely talented. He has now gone through all of his junior stripe belts and this week tested for his gold adult belt. In this school, this is not an easy belt to get, including having to break a board! We had to go to another dojo with another sensei for the test. It was a big deal and C was very nervous. DH even took off a few hours of work to come.

C did AWESOME! He really showed his stuff. He correctly performed all his katas, his six counts, his verbal requirements, and his board break. We are so proud of him.

He did have to have help from the sensei with his form, but she said this is normal with the very first board break! He did all the power part, she just helped him move his arm correctly. Next time he has to break it with a kick!

After his test, he got to join another class. He loved it so much and having different instructors helped teach him different things.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

I had the opportunity to attend the temple with one of my dearest friends, A. We had a great time and it was so nice to get away from life and really reconnect with the Spirit. Thanks to all who made it possible, including my friend, M, who watched my kids for nearly six hours so we could go. Hopefully I will feel more balanced and able to take on the responsibilities of my life! :)

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Ugh! I feel like my life is spiraling out of control (not such a new feeling, unfortunately). I am just going through one of those times when there is so much to do...in so many aspects of my life...that I feel I am failing at everything since I don't have time to do any one thing well. It is not such a good feeling and I am working on trying to balance my life, but so far...not working.

I did read a book once about balance and the analogy of a washing machine with too many towels in it. The load becomes unbalanced (unless you have a front-load washer like mine) and none of the towels can get clean since there's no room in the machine. Yet, if you take 2-3 out and wash them later, the load is balanced and the towels are clean. I just can't figure out which towels can wait right now.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

I think this was the best party I've ever put on. It really helped that I decided to make it an afternoon party. It allowed me to spend all morning on games, the cake, decorating, etc.. This allowed for a much calmer me. The timing also worked out well. We had games and cake and ice cream and presents and just finished up when the parents arrived. It was perfect. DH helped a lot and that added to how smoothly it all went.We had eight guests and K and C and LD....total of 11 kids. It was a little chaotic, but so much fun!

We started by giving each kid a homemade lightsaber. Then, we sent them on six quests to earn their Jedi ranking. They had a Jedi Course card that they had to get passed off after each quest in order to become a Jedi. They had so much fun. The hit of the party was fighting Darth Vader (DH) for the last quest.

It just turned out so fun. They did four quests (three inside and one out) and then we took a break and went to "Dexter's Diner" for a Darth Malt (It was 102 today...I had to get some fluids in them before sending them out for the Jedi Training Course). They went out to do the Jedi course and had so much fun. They would've all done it multiple times, but it was so dang hot! Then, they were exhausted from the heat and we put on a short clip of Star Wars while they rested. We concluded with fighting Darth Vader, opening presents, eating the Mustafar cake, and receiving Jedi status. It was the perfect party (and I'm so glad it's over!).

Thursday, July 10, 2008

(pardon the pajamas...we can't wait too long before opening some presents!)

Today is C's 7th birthday! I cannot believe that he is really seven! He is such a joy in our family. He is generally very positive and happy. He is very outgoing and is a natural leader. His principal commented at the end of the year how the whole grade seems to follow C and gravitate to him. It is unique in that he is a tiny little guy (smallest in his grade), but his charisma and personality allow him to be the leader. He is very smart. He can reason very quickly. I am so grateful that I get to have him as my son! Happy Birthday, C!

His party is coming up on Saturday (wish me luck!) It is a Star Wars party and should be very fun if I can ever get my act together and get it all ready! Here is the invitation we sent out...It turned out really neat. I found it somewhere on the Internet and only tweaked it a little, since it was so well done.

(I had it typed so that it looked like the beginning of the Star Wars movies...smaller at the top and larger at the bottom, as if it was scrolling through space, but it didn't transfer to the blog.)

"IN A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY, ON THE DAY OF JULY 10, IN THE YEAR 2001, A BABY BOY WAS BORN. FROM THE BEGINNING HIS ENERGY DREW THE ATTENTION OF THE JEDI COUNCIL, WHO NAMED HIM C. THEY KNEW HE WAS THE CHOSEN ONE.

IN THE 7 YEARS THAT FOLLOWED HIS BIRTH, YOUNG C HAS BEEN LEARNING THE POWERS OF THE FORCE.RECENTLY THOUGH, THE JEDI KNIGHTS HAVE FELT A STRONG DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE. A DISTURBANCE GENERATED BY THE DARKSIDE….

MANY JEDI KNIGHTS HAVE BEEN LOST. THE VERY FUTURE OF THE JEDI ORDER IS NOW IN JEOPARDY.THE JEDI COUNCIL HAS CALLED UPON YOUNG PADAWAN C TO SEEK OUT FUTURE JEDI. YOUR YOUNG PADAWAN’S PRESENCE ISREQUESTED TO COMPLETE JEDI TRAINING ON JULY 12, 2008.

THE TRIALS WILL BEGIN PROMPTLY AT 2:00 PM AND END AT 4:30 PM AT THE (last name) SYSTEM OF THE (street name) GALAXY, DOCKING BAY (house number). PLEASE ADVISE THE JEDI COUNCIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AT (telephone) AS TO WHETHER YOUR YOUNG PADAWAN WILL ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE OF THE TRIALS.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

K had a few friends over to celebrate her birthday on Monday. Since it was her year for a get-together instead of a party, I was very hands-off. She was the boss. She loved that part. 9-year-oldsdon't have a very good sense of time management, but other than that...she did great.First, they played with her gifts that she'd received on her birthday, including her bug catcher. Why a bunch of girls would want to be out looking for bugs in 100 degree heat for almost an hour....I don't know...but they loved it. Then they ate pizza, decorated and ate cupcakes, and went back outside for water balloons and the slip-n-slide. It was great fun for all!Then, that night we started my new tradition (for the summer, at least) of letting each kid stay up 1/2 hour later than their siblings and do whatever they want together. For K's 1/2 hour, we scrapbooked some of her last day of school pictures. She did it all...I only helped when she asked for it. We only got one page done, but it turned out cute, I think. And, more than that, we had a great time talking, laughing, and bonding. It was so nice to put aside everything else and just focus on being HER mom.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I am so grateful for the scriptures. How awesome is it that we can "hear" what God wants to say to us by reading the scriptures!?! I love that you can have read the same verse dozens, if not hundreds of times, and then, right when you need an answer...there it is...in bold (well, not really...but it jumps out as if it is!), just for you to have that answer. Love it! :)

My Family December 2015

My Family-November 2012

Me and My Love

My Family!

ME....when I had long hair!

Just a little about me

I am a happily married LDS SAHM of six kids (17-year-old girl, 15-year-old boy, 12 year-old girl, 9-year-old boy, a 3-year-old girl, and a 2-year-old boy). I love life. I am truly blessed to know my Savior, Jesus Christ. I desire to spend my whole life in service to Him. I love my children with all my heart and dedicate myself to being the best Mommy I can be...it is a daily challenge, but one I cherish.